About Northwestern: Tied for fourth with Michigan in the Big Ten standings after beating Penn State on Thursday. … Lost three of last five games, including two on the road. … Won last four games when scoring at least 70 points. … Leads the conference in scoring defense (60.1), field goal percentage defense (37.3) and 3-point percentage defense (29.1) in league games. … Averaging 64.9 points in Big Ten games. … Lindsay Pulliam (18.1) has scored in double figures in 24 straight games, including 22 in the win over Penn State. … Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah is averaging a double double (11.3 points, 11.5 rebounds) in the 14 conference games. Kunaiyi-Akpanah also leads the league in offensive rebounds (73) in Big Ten action. … Abi Scheid, who missed the Jan. 13 loss to Purdue, has a team-high 30 3-pointers. … Joe McKeown is in his 11th season at Northwestern and has posted two 20-win seasons the last four years. … McKeown is 5-11 against the Boilermakers.

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Dominique Oden of Purdue picks up De’Jour Young of Purdue Ft. Wayne Sunday, November 18, 2018, at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers defeated the Mastadons 78-44.(Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

About Purdue: Lost five of last six games after starting the Big Ten season 6-2. … Posted a 13-23 mark in February the last five seasons. … Suffered two 20-point losses at home the last three games. … Tied for seventh in the Big Ten standings. ... Made just 4 of 28 field goals in the fourth quarter the last two games. … Averaging 60.8 points in seven Big Ten losses. … Held last three opponents under 70 points but posted a 1-2 record. … Totaled 78 blocked shots in conference games, including 48 by Ae’Rianna Harris. … Karissa McLaughlin has 36 3-pointers in the last 14 games. … Dominique Oden has 20 rebounds the last three games. … Tamara Farquhar has pulled down double-digit rebounds five times. … Bench players had a streak of six straight games of scoring 10 or more points snapped against Minnesota. … Won 20 of the last 21 matchups against the Wildcats at Mackey Arena. … Sharon Versyp is 15-5 against Northwestern.

Not sure the Boilermakers can sink any lower than Thursday’s loss to Minnesota when they scored two points – and no field goals - in the fourth quarter and lost by 20. The inconsistent performances on offense should be ironed out by this late in the season but each outing has become a guessing game. On paper, the Wildcats are strong defensively, especially in Big Ten play, and that could mean trouble for the Boilermakers’ offense and another long night. The time for soul searching has passed because the team is what it is, the system isn’t changing overnight, and the talent level remains the same. The execution on both ends must improve to salvage part of what was once a promising season and the Boilermakers will lean on their starters for more heavy minutes down the stretch. Purdue has played itself out of NCAA tournament consideration for now and will need a long winning streak to climb back into the picture.